Planning sends ham radio tower on to council

The Planning Commission Tuesday held a public hearing to consider recommending an amending a city zoning ordinance that would allow ham operator towers and wind mills higher than 35 feet tall.

Comment

By Jack Barnwelljbarnwell@ridgecrestca.com

Ridgecrest Daily Independent - Ridgecrest, CA

By Jack Barnwelljbarnwell@ridgecrestca.com

Posted Nov. 28, 2012 at 1:30 PM

By Jack Barnwelljbarnwell@ridgecrestca.com

Posted Nov. 28, 2012 at 1:30 PM

The Planning Commission Tuesday held a public hearing to consider recommending an amending a city zoning ordinance that would allow ham operator towers and wind mills higher than 35 feet tall.

The matter was originally brought up at the Sept. 25 Planning Commission meeting when Ridgecrest resident Steven Rainey requested a permit to build a 55-foot radio tower with a 15-foot antenna.

Current Ridgecrest zoning ordinances do not allow tower-like structures higher than 35 feet in residential areas.

Even in commercial areas, structures like cell towers are subject to conditional use permits and special hearings to determine a myriad of things, including whether they would hinder air traffic patterns around the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station.

City Planner Matthew Alexander recommend that the planning commission recommend the city council amend the zoning ordinance to allow the commission to review and approve those structures on a conditional use basis.

"The one advantage is that we are required to notify everyone within a certain radius to comment," Alexander told the Planning Commission.

Alexander pointed out that city staff had researched zoning ordinances for other towns and used Fountain Hills, Ariz. as an example.

The permit process, if approved by city council at a later date, would include a public hearing to allow neighbors of residents like Rainey who would like to install a structure in the local neighborhood.

"Most of the city is currently zoned residential," Alexander said. "We are proposing single and estate and agriculture areas."

Rainey's proposed ham radio tower would not remain permanently standing. He has indicated when it is not in use, it would lay flat on his property and be raised and lowered via a crank.

"The staff is always trying to think outside the box," Alexander said. "Windmills are certainly becoming more popular source of alternative energy sources."

Commissioner Jim Sanders recommended changing the wording to include more general structures for anything the commission couldn't think of at the time.

Commissioner Carter Pope agreed with the idea.

Porter briefly expressed the idea should be discussed more thoroughly.

"I'm not really opposed about it, but we should consider a separate public hearing," Porter said.

During public comment, Ridgecrest resident Dave Matthews gave a few examples. He said one was a television antenna or a satellite dish were good examples, which required a certain amount of line-of-sight to receive a good signal.

"I think you should broaden it. It would save a lot of headaches in the future," Matthews said.

Rainey said that he agreed with the direction of the recommendation.

"I'll keep it all kosher," he said of his tower. "It's not like it's going to be a 200-foot structure."

Page 2 of 2 - Alexander said that if the recomendation were passed, it would be put on the docket for the city council's consideration but it would take time before it made it back to the Planning Commission.

"Bear in the mind the wheels of government move slowly," Alexander said.

The amendment would require to separate readings before it could be approved and Rainey could apply for the conditional use permit.

The planning commission voted unanimously to approve the recommendation after altering the language to apply it to more general tower-like structures.